Following last month’s post – a quick overview of the draft EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – I’m excited to announce that the hi:project is hosting a round-table on the response to the regulation, London, 5th May 2015.

The kinds of firms that are already confirmed may be described as:

• Global telecommunications and network technology
• Global technology and consulting services
• Global consumer goods
• Global consulting and professional services
• Global marketing services
• Global enterprise software.

They will be represented by individuals with titles such as CTO, Head of Data, Head of Innovation, and Privacy Lead. And of course the Web Science Trust and Linaro will be at the table too.

You can view a PDF of the invitation here, or simply continue reading this post for the same text.

What

The GDPR tells organisations that the EU citizen, the individual customer, takes primacy when it comes to personal data. And if personal data is the lifeblood of 21st Century organisation, these 500+ million people are now at the heart of your European operations.

The GDPR is irreversible. Final agreement is expected this year, and it will come into force in all EU countries within two years.

The hi:project exists to create a more human web, championing the individual in her role as citizen, as customer – indeed all roles in life. The non-profit project is supported by the Web Science Trust and Linaro, the open, non-profit software engineering company.

Why

Compliance with the GDPR demands firms attend to aspects of organisation and enterprise IT, yet the EU citizen is not best served by a mix of enterprise IT solutions. Rather she is best served, and your company best served also, by equipping her with similar facility to understand her relationships with organisations as they wield today in understanding her.

This is core to the hi:project’s mission. The project addresses some of the most pressing challenges of our use of the Internet and Web as you will see on our website, and for our purposes here it turns the challenge of the GDPR into a business opportunity.

We are forging a consortium to fund development of our open, non-differentiating technology.

Who

The hi:project is inviting organisations to this round-table that aspire to turn the challenge of the GDPR into an opportunity. We are inviting individuals who can make this call – business leaders and senior budget holders in operational and data strategy roles.

If you’d like to join the round-table, or simply find out more, please email hi@hi-project.org.

When

9am – noon, 5th May 2015, techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD.